VO2max: Tips and Strategies for Better Endurance Performance

For roughly a century, the maximum volume of oxygen uptake (VO2max) has been viewed as the gold standard for predicting running ability.  A higher VO2max was thought to equate to faster race times. While it may be true in many cases, there are a lot of other factors at play, especially when you have been training for several years and/or have reached an elite level of racing.

What is VO2max?

At first glance, it’s easy to assume VO2max is simply about the amount of oxygen someone can breathe into their lungs over a given amount of time. However, it’s really about oxygen uptake and utilization. It’s a combination of:

1)   Amount of oxygen taken into the lungs with each breath

2)   How much of that oxygen is diffused from the lungs to the blood

3)   The ability of the heart to effectively pump a large amount of oxygen-rich blood to your working muscles

and

4)   How much of the remaining oxygen is taken in and utilized by the mitochondria of the cells to help create fuel

This measurement is produced in a lab setting where you are hooked to a machine that records oxygen levels. You begin running on a treadmill at a relatively easy pace, and every 2-5 minutes the intensity increases until you have reached exhaustion. It is then recorded in terms of milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min).

Simply put, your VO2max is where oxygen consumption plateaus because your body cannot consume more than it already is. It is determined by how efficient your body is at turning a high percentage of the oxygen you breathe into fuel at a cellular level.

Over time, it was observed that those achieving the highest VO2max values during the lab test were also the ones that reached the highest speeds and ran for the longest duration. Because of this, it was concluded that the best runners in the world must have the greatest VO2max values.

Can we make this conclusion based on a lab test? Let’s see what happens when we observe actual running performance…

Is VO2max an Important Running Performance Indicator?

It’s important to note that genetics largely determines an individual’s baseline VO2max (VO2max before beginning specific training). Because of this, recreational runners and athletes new to the sport (0-2 years running) rely heavily on their VO2max to perform well. They may not have trained long enough, or intense enough, to create adaptations to other important physiological traits, so they are mostly taking their genetics (instead of years of consistent hard work) to the starting line with them. The most genetically gifted untrained runner will beat the least genetically gifted untrained runner. 

Pre-pubescent runners show very minimal improvement in VO2max no matter how long or intense they train. This is due to a lack of hormonal signaling that does not come until puberty, and because the small size of their body already helps them use oxygen efficiently. The greatest performance improvements at this age will come from improvements in strength, speed, coordination, flexibility, and biomechanics (aka general athletic ability). However, completing some VO2max work during this time has shown to cause a better VO2max response at the onset of puberty. For these athletes, the genetically gifted and most athletic runners will prevail.

All pubescent, or older, athletes that begin a consistent and specific running training program have the potential to improve VO2max greatly in the first 2-3 years. After this point, it will seem to hit a plateau, with only small increases yearly until the runner reaches their mid-to-late 20’s.

Because of this plateau, Intermediate and Elite athletes should view VO2max differently. At the highest levels we frequently see athletes beat others with greater values. We will discuss how this takes place, but first, let’s start by looking at training to specifically improve VO2max.

How to Improve VO2max Through Specific Training

In the lab test, it was observed that VO2max takes roughly 2-3 minutes to reach while running at a hard effort and can only be sustained for 6-8 minutes. If the math is correct, this means a race requiring 100% of VO2max will last between 8 and 11 minutes. For most intermediate and elite runners, this is the time it takes to complete a 3km or 2-mile race.

This should make your training plan easy to write, just do a lot of running at your 3km race pace, right?

If you are looking for a secret workout or training intensity to push your VO2max to the greatest heights, what I am about to tell you will be disappointing. If your genetic potential of VO2max has yet to be reached, all training will improve it!

Continually improving this factor depends on consistent training that progressively becomes longer and/or more intense over time (known as progressive overload). The best methods to improve VO2max are long aerobic runs and training at paces between 85% to 115% of velocity at VO2max (vVO2max). Let’s translate these percentages into more recognizable race paces.

-     Long aerobic runs are any run lasting 45 minutes to 2 hours (depending on your ability level) at a pace slower than your Lactate Threshold (LT).

-      85% vVO2max is roughly Lactate Threshold (LT), or a pace a runner can hold for an hour. Training at this intensity will bring a steady adaptation to VO2max for up to 12-15 weeks. This moderate pace will allow you to do more work, recover quicker, have a reduced chance of injury, and improve your body’s ability to clear lactate more efficiently (more on this in a later blog post). It is for these reasons that double threshold work is gaining so much popularity.

• Ex. Workouts:

  • 6-8x 1km with 1-1:30 minute jog between

  • 4-5x 1 mile with 1:30-2 minute jog between

  • 12-16x 400 meters with 30-45 second jog between

    
    

-     Training at 100% vVO2max equates to 3k/2-mile pace for most Intermediate and Elite runners. Because of the specific race pace, this training intensity will bring the greatest specific performance benefits for anyone racing the Mile, 3k, and 5k, but will take more time to recover than LT.

There is some good evidence that training between 92-95% vVO2max causes an equal training response to 100% vVO2max with a greater ability to recover between sessions. This particular pace is referred to as critical velocity. For newer runners this may be close to 5k pace. For intermediate and elite runners this may be closer to 10k pace or even slightly slower.

• Ex. Workouts:

  • 5-6x 800 meters at 3k pace with equal recovery

  • 5x 1km at 5k pace with 2-2:30 minute recovery

  • 6-8x 1km at 10k pace with 1:30-2 minute recovery

-     Training closer to 115% vVO2max is roughly 800m race pace. This intensity will cause the fastest rise in VO2max (6-8 weeks) and help improve your speed endurance at the same time. However, longer time needs to be spent on recovery after these seasons.

• Ex. Workouts:

  • 2-4 sets of 200-400 meter repetitions at 800 meter race pace with 1:30-3 minutes between repetitions and 3-5 minutes between sets

With such a wide range of paces, it may seem like a daunting task to write an effective training program that will improve VO2max. Just remember, if your genetic potential for VO2max has yet to be reached, all training will improve it.

Interestingly, when VO2max plateaus, we look at the same spectrum of training paces to guide workouts. The only difference is that we are trying to improve other physiological characteristics. When these characteristics are maximized, we see athletes with lower VO2max values win races against athletes with higher VO2max values.

How to Improve When VO2max Plateaus

Although VO2max has a genetic peak, LT and vVO2max do not have the same limits. The speed you run at LT (vLT) can continue to improve until it meets 100% VO2max. This means vLT can be trained to sustain 90% of vVO2max…or 95%...or 99%.

-     Ex: If your vLT is 5:25/mile and your vVO2max is 4:55/mile, you can continually train your vLT to get as close to 4:55/mile as possible.

Your new vLT will help you sustain vVO2max for a longer period. The longer a runner can sustain a higher percentage of vVO2max, the faster they will run at distances greater than 3km. However, vLT cannot surpass 100% VO2max, so if you don’t also train to improve vVO2max, your vLT will be limited.

If a runner has achieved their genetic potential of VO2max, the only way to obtain a faster vVO2max is to improve sprint speed. This improvement comes from maximizing running form (See previous blog post ‘Running Form’), strength, neuromuscular capabilities, maximum speed, and speed endurance.

-    Ex: Your vLT and vVO2max are now 4:55/mile. The only way to get faster is to improve your vVO2max.

Great, but how does this equate to runners with lower VO2max values beating those with higher VO2max values?

Put simply…

-          If Runner A and Runner B have the same VO2max but Runner A has a vLT of 6:05mins/mile and Runner B has a vLT of 6:20mins/mile, Runner A will clearly win in any race longer than 3km.

-          If Runner A and Runner B have the same VO2max but Runner A has a vVO2max of 5:50 mins/mile and Runner B has a vVO2max of 6:00 mins/mile, Runner A will clearly win in any race 3km or shorter.

Putting it All Together

A novice runner benefits from a greater VO2max and Intermediate or Elite level athletes may not benefit when their genetic potential has been met. Taking everything into account, is it worth spending time training to specifically adapt VO2max?

The way I see it, if vLT and vVO2max are continually trainable (unlike VO2max) through the same spectrum of training paces as VO2max, then the primary focus should be to improve these variables instead. Especially now that it’s understood that improvements in VO2max will naturally occur through this type of training.

All that’s left is to develop the right training program to continually improve these characteristics and (most importantly) be ready to compete well in your biggest races. It may benefit you to work with an experienced coach that knows how to plan and periodize an all-encompassing program.

Two rules to keep in mind when developing a program:

1)      Everyone will adapt in different ways to different workouts. Some will benefit from more LT work, while others will benefit from more 5k pace, while still others may benefit from more 800m pace work. Find what works best for the individual you are writing training for and build a plan around that.

2)      Adding variety to a training plan will help keep the athlete engaged, having fun, and enjoying the process of training consistently for a long period of time. This is a major key to success.

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